SPG security to Vajpayee to continue: Chidambaram

Government on Tuesday made it clear that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will continue to enjoy SPG security.

"Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an SPG protectee...I think the government has conciously decided that we should provide him SPG security," home minister P Chidambaram told reporters.

Replying to a question about deployment of a large number of policemen for VIP security, Chidambaram said after he took charge as home minister in 2008, the home ministry reviewed the security of VIPs and reduced security of many of them.

"After I took over, we did review. We did reduce the security for many protective persons. It is a continuous process. Review takes place once in three months. How many people will protest after we do something, I don't know," he said.

Acccording to a Home Ministry report, 16,788 VIPs, mostly ministers, MPs, MLAs, judges and bureaucrats, were guarded by 50,059 policemen in 25 states and Union Territories in 2010 for six months or more.

Interestingly, only 28,298 police personnel were actually sanctioned to be deployed for protection to these VIPs in that year.

The story was worse in 2009 when more than double than the actual alloted strength of policemen were deployed to provide security to 17,451 VIPs across the country.

The alloted strength of policemen for VIP security in that year was 23,637 but actually 47,355 police personnel were deployed to protect these prominent people.